Twilight Princess Head-to-Head

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Will the GameCube prevail or will Wii take the cake?

By David Clayman

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About the Head to Head The main purpose of our H2H series is to arm you with enough information and facts for you to make an educated decision. Whether you agree with our overall recommendation or not doesn't matter as much as being able to make a decision of your own.

If you're conflicted every time a game debuts on multiple platforms, this feature is for you. The Head-to-Head series cuts through all the different takes the editors have on games, compares the facts, and presents you with one uniform opinion on all the versions.

Looking for more? Please feel free to follow up with a question to our mailbag.

Well this is a first. Today we present a Head-to-Head of a Nintendo exclusive console game. Zelda: Twilight Princess first appeared on our radars many eons ago at a Space World event in Japan. After many years of delays, and Link's brief return to cartoon cuteness with Windwaker, fans are finally playing a "next-gen" version of Link. Sort of. Twilight Princess was scheduled to be a GameCube game, one last hurrah before the system was officially declared dead. However, in a brilliant move Nintendo decided to push the game back and also release TP on their next console with Wiimote functionality. This resulted in a killer ap for their console launch without angering loyal Cube fans.

If you absolutely must have the GC version of this game you should know that it is available in limited quantities in the US. Understandably, Nintendo is pushing the Wii version of the game and hoping that every last one of their fans makes the jump to new hardware. Is it worth seeking out? Read this Head-to-Head to find out.

Price Points Both the GameCube and Wii versions of Twilight Princess are priced at $49.99. Although, if you don't already own a Wii you should also consider the cost of the new hardware at $249.99.

Features In this section, we examine what relates to the main gameplay experience. Following, we have arranged a simple breakdown of the advantages and disadvantages of each system's gameplay features. If there are no advantages in any specific area, it means both share the same content.

Normally we give features its own page, however these games are identical if you remember that controls have their own category in these articles. The only "feature" that comes to mind is the fact that Link is left-handed on GameCube and right handed on Wii. While the character is traditionally a lefty, it makes more sense in a predominantly right handed world to have people control the sword with the Wiimote in their right hand.

To switch handedness without reworking the entire character and his animations Nintendo simply mirrored the world for Wii. That means everything is in the reverse location as it is on GameCube. You won't notice this if you only play one version, but if you play both prepare to be disoriented your second time through.